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on June 25, 2024
Read Time: 8 Minutes
Back in 2022, five new immigration routes were introduced under the Global Business Mobility (GBM) banner. These routes are tailored towards specific types of workers who may need to come to the UK on a temporary basis, in order to support overseas businesses that are looking to establish, develop, or support UK-based operations.
The five Global Business Mobility visas encompass the Senior or Specialist Worker route, the Graduate Trainee route, the UK Expansion Worker route, the Secondment Worker route, and the Service Supplier route, each geared towards a different type of temporary work assignment.
The Service Supplier visa category is aimed at non-UK nationals who have a contract to provide services for a UK company. They may have such an arrangement either as an employee for an overseas company, or as a self-employed professional based overseas. However, even if you know some of the basic details about the Service Supplier visa, you might still be uncertain about the exact circumstances in which it would apply. So, in this article, our award-winning professionals in UK immigration law here at Cranbrook Legal have sought to clear up any confusion.
The Service Supplier visa is a form of immigration permission in the UK that enables employees of an overseas service provider (or contractual service suppliers), as well as self-employed individuals established outside the UK (or independent professionals), to come to the UK on a temporary basis.
In order for a given foreign national to be approved for a Service Supplier visa by the UK Home Office, the work that they will be doing in the UK will need to be under a contract to supply services covered by one of the UK’s international trade agreements. Some of our blog readers may be familiar with the former International Agreement route having incorporated provisions for contractual service suppliers and independent professionals; the Service Supplier visa category effectively supplants these.
Presuming you are successful in being granted the Service Supplier visa, the period of time you will be entitled to remain in the UK will depend on the type of trade agreement under which you provide services.
You will be able to stay for whichever is the shorter of:
The longest period of time that anyone can spend on a Service Supplier visa is six months or 12 months. Again, it should be emphasised that the specific trade agreement applicable to your provided services will dictate the exact overall amount of time you can stay.
Presuming you have not yet reached the maximum permitted total stay, you might be able to apply to extend your Service Supplier visa.
You will also need to fulfil certain other conditions if you wish to extend your visa. These will include still being contracted to work for the sponsor who gave you your current CoS, in addition to your job, qualifications, and experience still satisfying the eligibility criteria for this route.
Another factor that might impact on the length of time you are allowed to stay in the UK on a Service Supplier visa, is whether you have previously spent time in the UK on this or another visa.
If you have previously been in the UK on any of the below visas, you will only be permitted to remain in the country for a maximum of five years in any six-year period:
If you are granted a Service Supplier visa for the UK, it will be expected that your primary focus will be on coming to the UK to provide the relevant services for which you sought this visa in the first place. This will entail working for your sponsor in the job that your Certificate of Sponsorship states.
In addition, holders of this visa have the right to:
Service Supplier visa holders are not, however, entitled to:
If you are successful in being approved for a Service Supplier visa, the Home Office will send you a full list detailing what you can and cannot do with this visa.
As referenced above, the Service Supplier visa is aimed at foreign nationals who are interested in moving to the UK on a temporary basis in order to provide contracted services to a UK company. You may need to apply for this visa if you are an overseas contractual service supplier and intend to spend time in the UK to provide services connected to a relevant UK trade agreement.
As always when navigating the UK immigration system, it is crucial to familiarise yourself with the specific criteria for your chosen visa route. In the case of the Service Supplier visa, to be eligible, you will need to:
When you apply for the Service Supplier visa, you will be required to have worked for no less than 12 months either:
In order to determine whether your job is eligible for this visa, you will need to know its four-digit occupation code. Your employer should be able to provide this, or it should be shown on your Certificate of Sponsorship. The Home Office maintains a list of eligible occupations that you can check, before you proceed with putting together and submitting a visa application.
However, even if your job turns out not to be eligible, it might still be possible for you to apply for a Service Supplier visa, provided that you have relevant qualifications and experience.
It will also be essential for your work in the UK to be covered by a valid trade agreement. You should check with your UK sponsor what trade agreement applies to the work that you will be carrying out in the UK, and you will need to be confident of its validity.
If you are a non-UK national, it will typically be necessary for you to obtain a UK visa in order to contract in the country. There are some exceptions to this – you will be able to contract in the UK straight away if you are an Irish citizen or hold settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or if you have “indefinite leave to remain” (ILR) status.
You will also, of course, be able to contract in the UK if you were a foreign national but have since gone on to obtain British citizenship, given that this status provides the right to work in the UK without restrictions.
If none of the above scenarios apply to you, you can expect to need a UK visa before you will be able to work as a contractor in the UK. However, you might be unsure which visa of those available for the UK would represent the best fit for your work and situation.
It has often been presumed, for instance, that the Skilled Worker visa route must be inaccessible to contractors wishing to work in the UK, given that it requires the visa holder to work for an organisation in what many assume to always be an employee-employer relationship. However, it is actually possible for someone to be self-employed on the Skilled Worker visa, in certain limited circumstances. Alternatively, there may be another UK visa that would better suit your requirements as a contractor. If you reach out to our specialists in UK immigration law here at Cranbrook Legal, we will be pleased to provide tailored advice and guidance for your situation.
The UK immigration system can be notoriously complicated and ever-changing. Understandably, then, many contractors, independent professionals, and service suppliers may find it difficult to determine what steps they should take in order to move to the UK for work.
Our expert team in central London can help clear up any such confusion; in fact, we can project-manage the preparation and submission of a UK visa on your behalf, from start to finish. We provide most of our immigration services on the basis of a pre-agreed fixed fee, which will help you to budget. To learn more about our services and expertise in relation to the Service Supplier visa or other immigration routes for the UK, please call 0208 215 0053 today, or arrange a free consultation using our straightforward online contact form.
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